Peters



No. 244,332.. Patented July 12,1881.v

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No. 244,332. 'Patented Ju1y1`2,1881

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LEMUEL W. STANLEY, OF DELAVAN, VILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO HENRY C. PAYNE AND PETER JOHNSON, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECVIFICATIONforming part of i Letters Patent No. 244,332, dated July 12, 1881'. Application filed May 20, 1881. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LEMUEL W. STANLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at lDel` avan, in the county of Tazewell and State of "Illinois, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsinOar-Couplings; and Idohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specicatiou.

Thisinvcntion relates to certain new and useful improvements in car-couplings, having for its object the production of a connection for railroad-cars which shall be self-coupling, and may be uncoupledl from the sides, platform, or top of a car, to dispense with the necessity of stepping between the cars to withdraw or insert the coupling-pin, thus guarding against the frequent accidents to life and limb ot' railway employs when engaged in coupling or uncoupling cars; and to this end the invention consists in novel yfeatures of construction, and combination and arrangement ot' parts, all as will be hereinafter fully described, and specificnllypointed out in the claims.

ReferringV to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a' longitudinal sectional elevation of my improved coupling as attached to the ends of the bodies of two cars. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section. Fig. 3 is an end elevation. Fig. 4 is aplan view of draw-head with lid removed. Fig. 5 is a lbottom-plan of lid. Fig. 6

is abottom plan of the push-block. Fig. 7 ist a transverse section of draw-head and lid. Fig.

1 8 is a modification. Fig. 9 is a'detail, and Fig.

10 is an enlarged side elevation, of one end of the coupling-bar.

^ A A in the drawings represent fragments of two freight, stock, grain, coal, or other railroad-cars of the ordinary or any special construction. On each end of the body. of these cars are securely fastened two draw-timbers, B B, placed a sufcient distance apart to freely admit the shank of the draw-head G between them, which is made of the usual length. This draw-head is provided atthe rear endwith the usual lug, c, and spiral spring o', arranged in any suitable manner for admitting of the necessary longitudinal yielding movements when the draw-heads of two cars come in contact iu coupling or uncoupling cars, or at other times.

In order to'admit ot' the draw-head having 55 the necessary freedom of movement in coupling cars, I suspend the draw-head from the drawbeams by pivoted links or levers D D, two upon opposite sides thereof', all as clearly shown in Figs. 1,2, 3, and 7, by which the draw-head 6o is adapted to receive a vibrating movementin connection with the yielding movement, thus greatly relieving the cars from the strain and shocks (and also the draw-heads and coupling mechanism) produced by the draw-heads coming in contact with each other by sudden stop! page of the cars, orin coupling them together.

The draw-headG has a longitudinal opening, in which is inserted a push-block, E, having studs e e at the-rear end thereof, serving as 7o guides for the spiral sprin gs e e', placed between said push-block and the rear end of the drawbar, through which said lugs e e work to push the said block forward toward the couplingbar opening in said draw-head. The pushblock is cutaway on its under side, as shown in Figs. l and 6, leaving three shoulders, F ff', with which the front end, g, of the couplingbar Gr andlshoulders g g2 respectively engage in coupling the cars, and also when coupled, 8o said bar being beveled oft on its upper sides at the points h h', to engage with corresponding beveled faces on the under Lside of the pushblock, in order to enable the parts to accommodate themselves more easily to each other when brought together.

Thecoupling-baris providediwith side win gs,

H H and H Ht, arranged a short distance apart, 'and between which, on opposite sides of the bar, and through openings in the bot- 9o tom of the draw-head, the hinged bolts I I drop, and thus lock the coupling-bar in the draw-head, and when said bolts and couplingbar are thus locked together the springs, acting on the push-block, press it against the locking-bar, so that the rear win gs, H H', will press against the bolts, and thus hold them in position against the front Walls of the openings in the bottom of draw-head, thereby insuring the bolts always to be held in locked position roo with the coupling-bar, whether in a raised, horizontal, or depressed position of the coupling-bar, while the space between the front and rear wings of the bar is sucient to permit of its having the necessary play relatively to the bolts. These bolts I I are hinged to the under side of the pivoted lid J of the drawhead,and said lid is raised for throwing or raising the hinged bolts out of engagement with the coupling-bar through the medium of the rod K, pivoted at its lower end to said lid, near the front and top side thereof, and its upper end pivoted to the ring L, in which works the eccentric M, mounted upon a transverse shaft, N, journaled in bearings on opposite sides of the frame of the car, as shown, and provided with operating-levers n n at the ends thereof, which can be operated from the sides of the car, and a lever, m, which extends upward to be operated from the platform of the car, or by suitable connections from the top thereof, while by suitable rod-connections with one of the side or end levers the engineer can detach the engine from the train.

The operation of my improved coupling is as follows: Assuming two cars are to be coupled, the lockin g-bar, on interin g the draw-head,will, through the medium of the rear wings, H H', raise thc free ends of the locking-bolts until said wings have passed clear of the bolts, when theywill drop between the front and rear wings, and thus lock the coupling-bar in the drawliead, as before described. When it is desiredV to uncouple two cars, by turning any one of the levers a partial revolution the lid and bolts will be raised clear ot' the coupling-bar through the medium of the eccentric and connectingrod.

It is obvious that in uncoupling cars the locking-bar is always retained in one of the draw-heads, and is held there by the pushblock, in the position it was in when leaving the opposite draw-head, and is thus ever ready to make connection without guiding the link in the opposite draw-head.

It is further evident that the levers n n being on the ends of the shaft N coupling or uncoupling may be effected from either side of the car, which could also be effected by merely having one lever at the end of one shaft on one side of the car, and the other shaft, with its lever, on the opposite side, or the levers on their respective shafts diagonally across from each other.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a modification of the eccentric ring, hinged lid, and connecting-rod, said rod, in the present instance, beingformed with or rigidly connected to said ring, instead of being pivoted thereto, as shown in Fig. 7, which is more liable to be operated by slight motions or other influences occurring from the movement and jarring motions produced by the cars. The weight of the hinged lid and operating-lever will generally be sufficient to carry back the hinged lid when the operator releases the lever; if not, either might be weighted, or the lever balanced for that purpose. f

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a car-coupler, the draw-head C, suspended by the pivoted linksDD, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

2. In a car-coupler, the draw-head C, suspended by the pivoted links or levers D D, in combination with the yielding push-block and coupling-bar, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

3. In a car-coupler, the combination of the coupling-bar provided with the wings H H and H' H', and the hinged locking-bolts I I, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

4. In a car-coupler, the coupling-bar provided with the wings H H and H' H', andthe hinged locking-bolts I I, in combination with the yielding push-block E, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

5. In a car-coupler, the combination of the yielding push-block, beveled on its under side, and provided with the shoulders F ff', the coupling-bar provided with the wings H H', and beveled on its upper side, and provided with the shoulders g g' g2,in combination with lockingbolts, substantially in the manner as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

6. In a car-coupler, the combination of the coupling-bar, provided with the wings H H and H' H', and the pivoted or hinged lid having the hinged locking-bolts I I, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described. 4

7. The pivoted lid provided with one or more locking-bolts, in combination with the pivoted connecting-rod K or K', ring L, and'shaft N, having eccentric M, working in said ring, for` raising and lowering said pivoted lid, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

8. The pivoted lid provided with the locking-bolts, pivoted connecting-rod, rin gL, shaft N, having eccentric M, and one or more operating-levers, in combination with the couplingbar provided with the wings H H and H' H', substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

9. In a car-coupler, the combination of the coupling-bar provided withy the wings H H and H' H', the draw-head provided wit-hthe yielding push-block E, and suspended by pivoted links D, the hinged lid providedy with the locking-bolts, and mechanism for raisingsaid lid, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

In testimony whereof I atix my signature in presence ot' two Witnesses.

LEMUEL W. STANLEY. a 4

Witnesses:

H. E. HADLEY, Taos. SLADE.

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